$1M in drug money key to sheriff’s office project

Published: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 4:21 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 4:21 p.m.

About one-fourth of the estimated cost of the new Davidson County Sheriff’s Office project will be funded through confiscated drug money.

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice budgeted about $1,050,000 in forfeiture funds to acquire the site of the proposed office and pay for site preparation and construction.

While the Davidson County Board of Commissioners has yet to approve any building, Grice said he thinks the forfeiture funds have helped the project progress so far.

“It’s expedited the situation because it is one-quarter of the theoretical cost of the project,” Grice said.

A space needs study conducted in 2009 showed the sheriff’s office in need of an additional 30,000 square feet of usable space. Grice said he has deputies working in storage closets at the current office, located on the bottom floor of the Davidson County Courthouse on West Center Street, and a new building would help the department consolidate.

In December 2011, commissioners approved the purchase of about six acres of land near U.S. Highway 64 East near County Home Road for $250,000. In October, commissioners voted to demolish several buildings for about $190,000 at the site, the former home of the Lank of Lexington manufacturing campus.

After originally planning to renovate the buildings at the Lank of Lexington site for the new sheriff’s office, the board decided in July it would be more cost effective to clear the site and build anew.

The land purchase and demolition project were both paid for with drug forfeiture funds. There should be more than $500,000 left to help finance the actual building process.

“Anytime you can use dollars like that instead of using property tax dollars, it helps us as far as maintaining the tax rate like it is,” said Zeb Hanner, assistant Davidson County manager. “That’s money that they’ve confiscated that can be used for good purposes instead of bad.”

Grice said he’s used the drug money for the purchase of surveillance systems, police cruisers, night vision equipment, crime scene equipment and many other uses over the years. The office’s new firing range, which Grice said will end up costing about $750,000, was paid for almost entirely with drug forfeiture funds.

Federal laws allow law enforcement agencies to retain up to 80 percent of assets seized from forfeitures.

Assets seized by the sheriff’s office go into a fund operated by the Davidson County Finance Department, Grice said. County commissioners must sign off on each withdrawal from the fund.

Grice said funds have been seized during stops by the office’s Interstate Criminal Enforcement team, as well as searches at houses in the area.

The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office seized about $212,000 in 2011 alone, Grice said.

“We’ve been lucky with several seizures since I’ve been here,” Grice said.

One traffic stop in June 2005, for instance, eventually led to one of the largest seizures in the department’s history.

On June 21, 2005, deputies stopped a 2005 Chevrolet Impala for failure to maintain a lane of travel. After approaching the car and talking with its two passengers, Steven Tan and Xingyun Chiang, Lt. Marvin Potter of the sheriff’s office noticed the passenger door of the car was improperly mounted. Canine officers detected an odor of narcotics, which led deputies to find 31 bundles of money wrapped in Chinese-language newspaper in the door.

The money, valued at $864,400, was seized. About $7,000 was also seized from Tan’s person.

Tan and Chiang fought the seizure and in 2010, appealed the decision of a district court judge, who ruled in favor of the confiscation in a forfeiture proceeding. Finding no error, the fourth circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the decision.

“We have reviewed the record, and we conclude that the government presented sufficient evidence to carry its burden and show that the currency was more likely than not proceeds from a drug transaction,” according to a copy of the court’s judgment.

The county received about $697,000 from the seizure, according to court records.

Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.

<p>About one-fourth of the estimated cost of the new Davidson County Sheriff's Office project will be funded through confiscated drug money. </p><p>Davidson County Sheriff David Grice budgeted about $1,050,000 in forfeiture funds to acquire the site of the proposed office and pay for site preparation and construction.</p><p>While the Davidson County Board of Commissioners has yet to approve any building, Grice said he thinks the forfeiture funds have helped the project progress so far.</p><p>“It's expedited the situation because it is one-quarter of the theoretical cost of the project,” Grice said. </p><p>A space needs study conducted in 2009 showed the sheriff's office in need of an additional 30,000 square feet of usable space. Grice said he has deputies working in storage closets at the current office, located on the bottom floor of the Davidson County Courthouse on West Center Street, and a new building would help the department consolidate.</p><p>In December 2011, commissioners approved the purchase of about six acres of land near U.S. Highway 64 East near County Home Road for $250,000. In October, commissioners voted to demolish several buildings for about $190,000 at the site, the former home of the Lank of Lexington manufacturing campus.</p><p>After originally planning to renovate the buildings at the Lank of Lexington site for the new sheriff's office, the board decided in July it would be more cost effective to clear the site and build anew.</p><p>The land purchase and demolition project were both paid for with drug forfeiture funds. There should be more than $500,000 left to help finance the actual building process.</p><p>“Anytime you can use dollars like that instead of using property tax dollars, it helps us as far as maintaining the tax rate like it is,” said Zeb Hanner, assistant Davidson County manager. “That's money that they've confiscated that can be used for good purposes instead of bad.”</p><p>Grice said he's used the drug money for the purchase of surveillance systems, police cruisers, night vision equipment, crime scene equipment and many other uses over the years. The office's new firing range, which Grice said will end up costing about $750,000, was paid for almost entirely with drug forfeiture funds.</p><p>Federal laws allow law enforcement agencies to retain up to 80 percent of assets seized from forfeitures. </p><p>Assets seized by the sheriff's office go into a fund operated by the Davidson County Finance Department, Grice said. County commissioners must sign off on each withdrawal from the fund.</p><p>Grice said funds have been seized during stops by the office's Interstate Criminal Enforcement team, as well as searches at houses in the area. </p><p>The Davidson County Sheriff's Office seized about $212,000 in 2011 alone, Grice said.</p><p>“We've been lucky with several seizures since I've been here,” Grice said.</p><p>One traffic stop in June 2005, for instance, eventually led to one of the largest seizures in the department's history. </p><p>On June 21, 2005, deputies stopped a 2005 Chevrolet Impala for failure to maintain a lane of travel. After approaching the car and talking with its two passengers, Steven Tan and Xingyun Chiang, Lt. Marvin Potter of the sheriff's office noticed the passenger door of the car was improperly mounted. Canine officers detected an odor of narcotics, which led deputies to find 31 bundles of money wrapped in Chinese-language newspaper in the door.</p><p>The money, valued at $864,400, was seized. About $7,000 was also seized from Tan's person. </p><p>Tan and Chiang fought the seizure and in 2010, appealed the decision of a district court judge, who ruled in favor of the confiscation in a forfeiture proceeding. Finding no error, the fourth circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the decision. </p><p>“We have reviewed the record, and we conclude that the government presented sufficient evidence to carry its burden and show that the currency was more likely than not proceeds from a drug transaction,” according to a copy of the court's judgment.</p><p>The county received about $697,000 from the seizure, according to court records. </p><p>Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.</p>